Keep your melons cool with the portable Marugoto Tamachan

It’s summer in the Northern Hemisphere, which means it’s perfect weather for heading to the beach or packing a picnic basket and making for the countryside. Unfortunately, it also brings to the fore a problem that has plagued mankind for centuries. How to keep one’s watermelons cool on those long, hot days? Thankfully, the Japanese have turned their considerable technological prowess to developing a solution and here it is – a portable watermelon cooler called the Marugoto Tamachan.

Not only does the Marugoto Tamachan keep your watermelons cool in summer, for those that like a slice of warm watermelon in the cooler months (and let’s face it, who doesn’t?), it also packs a heater to keep them warm in winter. In the unlikely event that you’ll need to heat or cool something other than a watermelon the Marugoto Tamachan can also be used to store other food and beverages.

Made from ABS resin, the Marugoto Tamachan can hold up to 14 liters and weighs 6.3kg (13.9 lbs). It comes with an extendable handle for wheeling your watermelon around and runs on AC/DC power. It is available in Japan for 19,950 yen (approx. US$230).